2 shot at Atlanta warming center; GBI investigating after officer returned fire
Two men were shot inside an Old Fourth Ward recreation center that was serving as a city warming shelter Thursday morning, Atlanta police confirmed.
An off-duty officer who was working at the Central Park Recreation Center heard the shots and returned fire, officials said. But it’s not clear if that gunfire struck anyone.
The suspected shooter was taken into custody. The man did not sustain a gunshot wound but was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital with “perhaps a broken arm,” police Maj. Peter Malecki told reporters at the scene.
The two victims were also taken to Grady and are expected to survive, he said. One man suffered four to five gunshot wounds, while the other was shot in his legs, police said.
A metal detector is installed at the front door of the recreation center, near a “no weapons” sign. Security officers are also present, along with routinely assigned off-duty police officers for protection, Malecki confirmed.
“Thankfully, (the officer) was there, because it certainly could have been much, much worse,” he said, adding that investigators are still looking into how someone was able to enter the building with a weapon.
According to Malecki, the man was inside around 10 a.m. and “became somewhat irate, began threatening other patrons of the warming center, as well as an employee,” before pulling out a gun and opening fire.
That’s when the officer shot back.
Police said they’ve asked the GBI to investigate the shooting.
The recreation center is located at 400 Merritts Ave. within Central Park. The city uses the facility as a warming center during extreme cold spells. The center was open Wednesday night, and guests were expected to leave by 11 a.m. Thursday.
The center is one of several city-run warming stations that open when forecasts call for frigid weather.
Temperatures in the city plunged to below freezing late Wednesday, and Ron Hutton was among those seeking warmth for the night. He and roughly 50 to 60 people were still there Thursday morning when they suddenly heard gunshots.
“There wasn’t any commotion or anything ... (no) words that I heard that led up to this. I just heard the gunshots started,” he told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution at the scene.
Hutton said he’s used the warming centers in the past and said staff typically do a good job ensuring everyone’s safety.
“I don’t know how that guy got in with a gun this time,” he said.
The 60-year-old said he will continue using the shelter if the staff doubles down on ensuring no weapons are brought in.
Three centers, including the one at Central Park Recreation Center, are scheduled to reopen Thursday and Friday nights.
A spokesperson for the mayor’s office did not immediately respond to the AJC’s request for information.
The Kindezi School at Old Fourth Ward, an Atlanta charter school that is right across from the recreation center, confirmed it was placed on a brief exterior lockdown due to the shooting.
“Law enforcement has since confirmed that there is no continuing threat to our students or staff,” the school said in a statement, adding that normal school operations had resumed.
